Palestinian Hip-Hop Artist Belly Raps About His War-Torn Homeland In "History of Violence" [VIDEO]

Posted by Adam Howard, AlterNet at 11:00 AM on November 13, 2007.

Belly (aka Rebellyus), the Palestinian-born rapper who spent his first seven years living in war-torn areas of the Middle East, goes deep for his and all people in his new track and video for "History of Violence." The song is a powerful and vivid look at the hypocrisy and devastation of the war in Iraq and other Middle Eastern territories. Shot in the 'hoods of Ottawa's southside and West Montreal, "History of Violence" drew hip-hop heads from cultures around the world to participate, including Palestinians, Lebanese, Iraqis, Ghanaians, Haitians, Jamaicans, Somalis, Canadians, French Canadians and Americans, some bringing flags from their mother countries.

As someone of Arab descent, since 9/11 Belly has experienced his share of discrimination and that palpable feeling of ostracism comes through in "History Of Violence."

While the clip and lyrics are very pointed, Belly stands with his message. "If this puts me in the line of fire, then so be it," he emphasizes. "I felt I had to do this. I represent Arabs who don't want war, who are just like everybody else and that is 99% of us. I want people to see and hear that perspective."

He goes on to say, "Countries in the Middle East are systematically being occupied. The general public is being lied to about what's really going on. With wars of this magnitude, millions of people are affected, thousands lose their lives over decisions their leaders make. Terrorists kill innocent people. When the army does the same, how can we justify their actions? Fighting fire with fire is, obviously, not an idea that's been effective, so far."

Check out the video to your right for more.

Tagged as: music, palestine, middle east, hip hop, rap, belly

Adam Howard is the editor of PEEK.